Is SAF more expensive than jet fuel?
Right now, yes. Creating a new industry is expensive. Over time, the price will regulate as production increases to meet market demand. Federal and state tax incentives are designed to fill in the interim gap.

Why not develop electric planes instead?
While electric cars have become more common, current battery technology is insufficient to reliably power passenger jets. Long term, it’s likely that electric-powered planes will be used for short-haul regional flights. But in the near- to mid-term, SAF is the best decarbonization lever the aviation industry has in its journey to net zero.

Is SAF ethanol?
No. Corn can be used in the production of SAF, but it’s only one of many possible feedstocks, including waste fats, oils and greases, municipal solid waste, agricultural and forestry residues, wet wastes, as well as non-food crops cultivated on marginal land. Ethanol needs to be further refined to meet the chemical profile of jet fuel.

What makes SAF sustainable?
According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA): “SAF can be considered sustainable as their feedstocks do not compete with food crops or output, nor require incremental resource usage such as water or land clearing and, more broadly, do not promote environmental challenges such as deforestation, soil productivity loss or biodiversity loss.”

Questions about the Minnesota SAF Hub

Why is Minnesota the right place to launch the SAF Hub?
Recognized by the World Economic Forum for engineering the first large-scale SAF hub in the U.S., Minnesota has several strategic advantages that support a vibrant SAF industry, including:

• A rich landscape of both industry and agriculture, which together can provide the feedstocks and complementary infrastructure to produce SAF at scale. This ecosystem can support future SAF pathways, such as Power-to-Liquid, once commercial maturity is reached.

• A large demand for jet fuel (via Minneapolis–Saint Paul Airport), which allows nearby producers to benefit from scale efficiencies and streamlined logistics.

• A strong track record of meaningful private and public sector co-investment; the Minnesota SAF tax credits recently signed by Governor Tim Walz will help catalyze economical SAF development.

What describes the Minnesota SAF Hub’s approach?

The hub is unique because:

• We are working across the entire value chain for multiple pathways and multiple time horizons.

• We are addressing both the supply and demand for SAF.

• We are place-based and cross-sector.

How will the hub scale the production of SAF in Minnesota?
Our work is guided by a three-horizon strategy. The horizons refer to market maturity, not to when we will be undertaking actions on the solutions; in fact, we are taking actions today that are designed to impact Horizon 2 and 3.

Horizon 1 (2024–27): The first horizon is simply getting some SAF to MSP airport by diverting existing SAF to our market. Success here will provide proof of concept, establish “last-mile” appropriate blending and fueling infrastructure and ensure use of the Minnesota SAF tax incentive.

Horizon 2 (2028–35):  The second horizon sees the first in-state production of SAF, with higher volumes supplied at the airport (~25 million gallons).

Horizon 3 (2035 and beyond): The third horizon is focused on achieving real scale across multiple pathways (100+ million gallons) and significantly driving down the CI score of SAF. This reduction in CI score could come from improvements in more technologically mature pathways, e.g., carbon capture and storage at ethanol plants, from novel feedstocks, e.g., novel winter oil seeds, woody biomass, or from more nascent pathways, e.g., power-to-liquid.

The hub is focused on driving progress towards these horizons. We identify and fill gaps in the value chain by attracting value-chain players to Minnesota, supporting pre-competitive efforts to build the value chain, making connections to financing, sites, technology partners, etc., and highlighting research and development needs.

How will the hub balance environmental imperatives?

Environmental stewardship is one of the bottom lines of the Minnesota SAF Hub. Land use and water quality are priorities baked into the design of how we’re working to meet the global SAF challenge. Regenerative agriculture is central to our multi-horizon strategy. 

How will the Minnesota SAF Hub measure success?
Success will be measured holistically across key environmental and economic metrics:

• Environmental: Delivered SAF volumes, total greenhouse gas emissions reductions; The Nature Conservancy would like to see a commitment of “no land conversion”

• Economic: Direct sales, net creation new energy jobs and other markers of macroeconomic impact will be evaluated.